Quilting Update

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My husband had a four day weekend so I have yet to brainstorm my schedule and priorities. We went to church, played games, watched a movie, and just enjoyed the time at home. However, I did spend a few hours working on my quilt! I would consider that productive.

The only thing left on the quilt top is to add the borders. Then I get to shop for backing! I’m excited that this quilt is almost done. I have no idea what’s next on the project list, though I have a few ideas in mind. I guess we’ll just have to see how long it takes me to finish this quilt.

So many quilts and so little time!

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Quilting update – two rows complete

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My quilt top is finally coming together. Last week, I completed the last of the 20 blocks.


Today I sewed the first ten blocks into two rows.


I want to sew the other half of the blocks into rows before sewing these two rows together. The quilt is coming out a bit smaller than I had hoped. I think it was a problem with my seam allowances not being exact and having to cut each block down to the same size. If I have enough of the dark pink fabric or can find more at Joann, I will add a small border before putting together the quilt sandwich.

Hopefully I’ll finish the top this weekend. I can’t wait to finish this quilt and move on to my Christmas projects – table runners!

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Today’s productivity

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Hubby informed me last night that he’d be out all day today. Normally, he’s home working all or part of the day so this was unusual. I decided to embrace the quiet house and get a ton of stuff done. I promised hubby that he’d be impressed by my productivity when he got home. I think I succeeded, though he’s not home yet to confirm.

Today, I…

vacuumed,
swept the kitchen and the kitty box room,
washed dishes,
cleaned out the fridge,
tidied up the entire apartment,
finished a memoir I was reading,
studied Japanese for over an hour,
made a more fancy lunch than normal,
made huge progress on my quilt,
returned some emails,
updated the budget,
completed two loads of laundry,
and a few other small things.

Whew. And since hubby is still not home, I’m writing a blog post. I love productive days! Once I’m done with this post, I’ll either spend some more time with my Japanese studies or keep working on my quilt. Hubby is working way up north today so when he calls to tell me he’s on the way, I’ll still have enough time to prepare dinner.

Bruno under the ironing board

4 blocks complete!
8 more D9P blocks to sew together. There will be 12″ solid blocks of the dark pink fabric between each of these D9P blocks. I haven’t cut those out yet, so I can’t show what it will look like. This is a new pattern for me and I think I like it. I’m not sure about all the fabric choices, but the pattern is fun.

Here’s to a day of great productivity!

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Not a Monday menu post!

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I can’t post a Monday menu post because I have no idea what we are eating this week! We were going to wait until today to go grocery shopping so I didn’t rush to have a menu complete. Then we ended up going grocery shopping on Saturday night because we were already out. So we’ll be eating whatever I can cobble together from our cupboards! I do know we’re having tacos and spaghetti. Everything else is up in the air.


This morning’s smoothie – bananas, blueberries, and strawberries. It was yummy!


Here is what I accomplished on my quilt this afternoon. I cut out all the squares that go between the nine patch squares I sewed last week. Everything is stacked and ready to be pinned and sewn.

The double nine patch in the center of my cutting mat is not sewn yet but that is what each 12″ block will look like when complete. Tomorrow I hope to make great progress toward getting those blocks complete.

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Simple Woman’s Daybook – September 9th

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FOR TODAY

Outside my window… blue skies after an unexpected thunderstorm this afternoon

I am thinking… about working on my current quilt top once dinner is complete

I am thankful… that I did not slice into my finger while trimming photos! The knife barely missed.

From the learning rooms… I finished The Hunchback of Notre Dame today and will be starting The Three Musketeers next week.

In the kitchen… waiting for the tofu to finish pressing so that I can make curry for dinner

I am wearing… blue jean skirt and a simple gray top from Old Navy

I am creating… a new quilt top!

I am going… to church tomorrow morning, the Lord willing

I am wondering… which church I will attend

I am reading… several books at the moment

I am hoping… that my hubby will have the entire weekend off from work

I am looking forward to… the Sabbath! An entire day to spend with God

I am hearing… hubby talking to his mom on the phone

Around the house… all is quiet and all is clean

I am pondering… Levitical laws and which are applicable today

One of my favorite things… quilting and my kitty

A few plans for the rest of the week… curry, quilting, and a good book

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… three sets of 9 patches are complete. Two others are partially complete.


Have a blessed weekend!

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D9P quilt progress

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Remember this quilt? I was working on it back in July 2010. Eek. Time does fly and I am really slow at my quilting. Anyways, I’ve returned to working on that quilt, a double nine patch.

(Side note – I’ve seen D9P stand for Double 9 Patch and Disappearing 9 Patch. I wonder which one is correct or if both abbreviations are correct…)

Today I tried something new – strip piecing! It worked really well and sped up the process. I should have tried it sooner.


Strip piecing


Today’s accomplishments

Tomorrow’s plan – working on the green blocks. I’ve discovered I can complete 10 patches in about 2 hours if the strips are already cut. Hopefully I’ll get faster as I get the hang of this pattern. If not, at least I’m having a lot of fun and listening to many Japanese podcasts while sewing!

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Third quilt completed!

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This week I finished my third quilt! This is the second quilt I’ve picked out a design and fabric for, though it’s the first quilt for which I made decisions without assistance from an experienced quilter.

quilt draped over a chair

entire quilt

close up of my favorite part of the quilting

the back – hard to see the quilting

I learned a lot with this quilt. Next time, I’m picking a more interesting backing. This one is boring. First I tied this quilt but I hated the way it looked. So I picked out all that work and then quilted it. Much better!

Now I need to send this quilt off to my grandpa. It was supposed to be a Christmas present last year, but… He’ll be getting an early Christmas present this year!

I can’t wait to start on my next quilt!

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My nephew’s quilt – completed

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Here is what I have been doing much of the last 6 weeks. Being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until the last minute to start on my nephew’s quilt. While I was able to pull it off, it was a whirlwind and I wish I had taken my time. Still, I am very happy with how the quilt turned out! I learned a lot with this quilt and can’t wait to start my next!

Some of the fabric

More fabric

First block

A bunch of blocks

Strips of blocks

Basting the layers in my tiny kitchen!

All done! My favorite quilt thus far.

Landon and his new quilt

“Thanks, Aunt Cassie!”

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Quilt progress and a couple tutorial videos

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I’m still working on the quilt I was supposed to have done before Christmas. Even though I am slow, I am still making progress! One row of blocks is tied, only nine more to go.

It’s been a year since I finished my first quilt. Since too much time had lapsed, I couldn’t remember exactly how to tie the quilt layers together. Plus, it was my first time spray basting a quilt rather than pin basting it. YouTube to the rescue! I found several great videos that really helped.

How to spray baste a quilt

How to tie a quilt

This evening I’ll keep working on the tying. Then I have to figure out how to attach the border. It’s coming together finally! My next quilt will be faster. Really.

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Productive and preparations

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Today was a very good day. I’ve been bit by the spring cleaning fever. I know it’s only February, but I live in sunny Arizona and it’s already 70 degrees. It feels like spring.

Following on the success of Thursday last week, I decided to again try to make Preparation Day a bit easier. Fridays are so busy and I want to be ready for the Sabbath, rather than rushing into it.

So, today was a mix of completing chores that would make tomorrow easier and doing some serious cleaning that hadn’t been done in awhile. Let’s not try to figure out how long it’s been since I’ve mopped my kitchen floor… I also started working on the filing, trying to eliminate the giant pile of papers that migrates between my desk and the kitchen counter. It has been reduced to a height of only 4 inches, as opposed to the original 12!

After finishing all the housework (not that housework is ever finished) I decided to work on my quilt. I spread it out on the floor and spray basted it. Wow. That was hard. I thought it would be easier but I think it was too big of a quilt to be ideal for spray basting. I had a really hard time getting the wrinkles out of both the batting and backing. Several times, my hubby and I had to peel part of it apart and redo it. But, my quilt is finally basted! Now to tie it.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow. My living room is tidied, my fridge is cleaned out, and all the dishes are washed and put away. Tomorrow should be easy. Right? Right.

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